Harvest preparation!
I recently realized we're nearing the end of summer. Fall is on the horizon. When fall starts to hit, Harvest is usually in tow. I've recently started to organize the amount of photos i have taken over the last 4 and half months. I've only been able to go through about a quarter of it because there is ALOT of content. I didn't really think about doing this on a daily basis which would have made this a little less tedious, but what are you gonna do right? Since we are currently finishing up our last minute pruning and spraying of the trees, I decided to write up a small reflective blog post about the last 4 months and go through a little photographic recap.
I recently realized we're nearing the end of summer. Fall is on the horizon. When fall starts to hit, Harvest is usually in tow. I've recently started to organize the amount of photos i have taken over the last 4 and half months. I've only been able to go through about a quarter of it because there is ALOT of content. I didn't really think about doing this on a daily basis which would have made this a little less tedious, but what are you gonna do right? Since we are currently finishing up our last minute pruning and spraying of the trees, I decided to write up a small reflective blog post about the last 4 months and go through a little photographic recap.
It's very surreal going through what i saw when i started the project to what i can see now. I think the project is coming together very well despite a lot of challenges i faced so far. One of them was facing sort of new camera system. Just four days before i left for the project i ran across a really good deal for a digital Leica and i went for it. I say sort of new because i owned a Leica M6 but only had it for about a year. I then ended up trading it for a Contax T3 because i thought i wanted a really good point and shoot camera. I did love the camera and it was a joy to use. The simplicity that surrounded a film point and shoot was mind blowing but i still missed how i felt using a leica. I know there are a lot of people out there that say you don't need that, Leica's are over priced luxury cameras, and a camera is just a tool you don't need a hammer attached to a high price tag. While i agree with that notion i don't hear a lot of people talking about the caveats to that. A camera is a tool but a tool should fit its user. A good tool should be a tool you like using, other wise you'll never use it and it'll sit on a shelf for all its life.
So there i was with a new system in hand trying to remember and relearn the nuances of using a fully manual camera. I've never actually used a Leica system on anything work related. The biggest fear i had was focusing. I don't have the luxury of auto focus and had to really practice and master how to focus quickly, It was tough at first but i slowly got used to it. On a side note, manual focus on a Leica M camera stops on each end(close focus to infinity). Some focusing systems allows the focus ring to keep moving once you get to the point of inifinity. This made this a lot easier for me to quickly pick up on. I can automatically know where my camera is focused at by feel and adjust to focus closer or further. Once i got that i was all set. Now i could concentrate properly on creating the work i wanted to create. Technical is important but not as important as content and emotion in your work.
There were a few other challenges that i've mentioned in past blogs you can find here, so i won't bore you with repeat content. I intended this to be a shorter blog to be honest with you, but with so many thousands of images i decided to do a secondary recap at a later time. Please enjoy some of the photo slide shows and if you still haven't followed me on Instagram, you can do so by looking up @chriiiissss. I post images there usually on a daily basis.
Colors in color photography are important!
If you're anything like me, You'll see and watch that red ball that crosses your path and immediately forget what you were doing or saying. I do that same thing with color photographs. Every time i go through my own images whether I'm shooting digital or film, if a color is distracting my eyes from my original subject i'll go to black and white. Black and white photography is the epitome of classic photography for me personally. It was the only type of photography available when the medium was first invented so naturally it portrays and nostalgic feel to it. Thats not why I'm here though. I'm not going to go through the whole argument of why black and white is better or color is better. I wanted to go through one of the main reasons i go choose color or go black and white.
If you're anything like me, You'll see and watch that red ball that crosses your path and immediately forget what you were doing or saying. I do that same thing with color photographs. Every time i go through my own images whether I'm shooting digital or film, if a color is distracting my eyes from my original subject i'll go to black and white. Black and white photography is the epitome of classic photography for me personally. It was the only type of photography available when the medium was first invented so naturally it portrays and nostalgic feel to it. Thats not why I'm here though. I'm not going to go through the whole argument of why black and white is better or color is better. I wanted to go through one of the main reasons i go choose color or go black and white.
You'll probably hear people talk about how black and what is more "artistic or fine art", but maybe thats not how we should go about choosing color or black and white. You can take a look at a lot of photographers that created lots of photos that fit into the genre using color photographs. I on the other hand take a different approach to choosing black and white. I started thinking more and more about color photographs and why i would choose a color photo over a black and white and vice versa. Now there are some days where i go out with intentions to shoot a certain way. I try to challenge myself on a daily basis as far as limiting myself, but thats a whole other blog post in itself.
If you take a look at the two photographs above, you can already kind of see what i'm talking about. In the example above I would prefer to stick with the color photo. This is a photo from a parade in Tonasket WA. The Tonasket high school colors are blue and i noticed a few other people wearing the blue colors i decided to take the photo. When you take a look at the black and white photo, the idea of the blue is completely lost and does nothing for the photo itself.
In this example you can see how colors are actually distracting and draw your attention away from the subject in the photo. Next time you're out making photographs. Try to remember how important colors are in your photographs rather than make it color just because. Colors can convey emotions and become quite significant. On the other hand colors can also distract and make no sense in a photo. Quick tip, Your eyes tend to be drawn to either the brightest point or color in a photo. Keep that in mind when your Making and editing your photographs.
Rerouting due to congestion
I think I'm currently about half way through this project now. I started this off with the end goal of making a book. That goal hasn't changed. It's still what i ultimately want for it. For anyone that has been following my blog and progress, I originally stated that I'm more of an organic photographer. I did not have a precise map of how to reach my end goal when i started. As soon as i arrived in Washington, I literally started photographing everything that interested me. Once i got to sorting through some of the photographs that i took, I started focusing on photos of how the orchard is run internally. This was probably the easiest route to take, especially since i had 24 hour access to my grandparents who ultimately make all the calls.
I think I'm currently about half way through this project now. I started this off with the end goal of making a book. That goal hasn't changed. It's still what i ultimately want for it. For anyone that has been following my blog and progress, I originally stated that I'm more of an organic photographer. I did not have a precise map of how to reach my end goal when i started. As soon as i arrived in Washington, I literally started photographing everything that interested me. Once i got to sorting through some of the photographs that i took, I started focusing on photos of how the orchard is run internally. This was probably the easiest route to take, especially since i had 24 hour access to my grandparents who ultimately make all the calls.
Fast foward to about 4 months now and i think i've changed my direction about 4-5 times. You know whats crazy though. As much as this sounds like I'm going no where and i have no idea what i'm doing or where I am going, I've always known where i want to go just not the route I'm taking to get there. I honestly believe that adjusting or changing your lanes so to speak is necessary as long as your end goal stays the same. Is there anyone out there that made a plan for their entire life and it actually went according to your plan? I'm sure there is one asshole out there thats going to chime in and say yes... My point is, life comes at you, things change that are out of your control. What is in control is your ability to adjust and adapt. If you lack those skills, well... good fucking luck lol.
So as time went by and i spent more and more time with the people that work on the orchards. I slowly started shifting towards what i think will be a lot more images of the employees that work here. I will say i'm a little wary of taking this direction at the moment. There are a lot of political implications involved with this type of project, Especially in a time where our country is highly divided on the views of immigrants in our country. I'm mean the country has always been divided in a sense, but its just that much more pronounced and commercialized because of all the media attention a subject like this receives nowadays. Anyways, like i said i don't like to get political. So lets just call this a portrait piece on orchard farmers.
Hope fully this is the last time i switch up the subject of this project, but if its not, I'll adjust and move forward.
The Art of breaking barriers
Its now a little over 3 months since i started my project. I'm amazed at how fast this has all gone by and to be quite honest i've taken it very easily. I mean this in the sense of how i photograph. I've never been one to use burst mode in the hopes that something sticks. I like to take my time and be consistent. Which brings me to the point of this blog post. There was something i was very aware of before undertaking a project like this and really never figured out a way to go about it. barriers are never an easy thing to deal with, whether it be language or emotional. Anytime someone has tried to talk to me in another language, I usually just give them a few head nods and walk away. When i first started doing street photography work and encountering strangers is when i realized that a camera or a moment shared can break any barrier.
Its now a little over 3 months since i started my project. I'm amazed at how fast this has all gone by and to be quite honest i've taken it very easily. I mean this in the sense of how i photograph. I've never been one to use burst mode in the hopes that something sticks. I like to take my time and be consistent. Which brings me to the point of this blog post. There was something i was very aware of before undertaking a project like this and really never figured out a way to go about it. barriers are never an easy thing to deal with, whether it be language or emotional. Anytime someone has tried to talk to me in another language, I usually just give them a few head nods and walk away. When i first started doing street photography work and encountering strangers is when i realized that a camera or a moment shared can break any barrier.
I had to throw out the option of avoidance while out here on the farm. It's kind of funny when you look back at yourself or think about what you just did in order to convey yourself to someone who doesn't understand what you are saying. I noticed that i actually make a lot of hand gestures. Some would say obnoxiously big hand gestures, but hey i feel like it got the point across. Unfortunately that technique will only get you so far. So i started just speaking straight up english to some people. Turns out that a few of them speak some pretty decent english and you can have some small talk with them.
Once i got past all the small talk, i slowly assimilated myself into the workers day to day jobs. If there is anything to take away from this, It's patience, persistence and have a camera on you at all times. I've been out with the people that help on the farm day in and day out. I can see from the first few images i took of some people working to Images i take today. It's like night and day. People really do start to get comfortable around you just from time. They still don't know a lot about me but at this point its like they know and trust me.
This isn't a perfect method for assimilating into a project where you come across some sort of barrier, But it doesn't hurt. So if you ever find yourself in a similar situation. Don't give up and keep at it. Always be ready with a camera in hand.
You're looking very slim!
2 weeks since my last blog post about thinning and its still the main goal and work load at the moment. There are just so many blocks of trees and so little time. We're almost there though. I've been up every day as early as possible and its kind of crazy how much slimming down that actually has to be done. I saw some trees that had bunch of 5-6 apples and 5 or more bunches per branch. I learned from my uncle that you typically only want 3-4 and they should be about a first apart. I guess the say less is more is very relevant in the case of a good crop of apples.
2 weeks since my last blog post about thinning and its still the main goal and work load at the moment. There are just so many blocks of trees and so little time. We're almost there though. I've been up every day as early as possible and its kind of crazy how much slimming down that actually has to be done. I saw some trees that had bunch of 5-6 apples and 5 or more bunches per branch. I learned from my uncle that you typically only want 3-4 and they should be about a first apart. I guess the say less is more is very relevant in the case of a good crop of apples.
It's funny how awkward i felt the first few days photographing the thinning process. I mean i can see how everyone is probably thinking, who is the tourist over here taking pictures of us. That's what i thought in my head at least. You know what though, after a week of just being there everyday and i mean everyday! I get up at 6 and photograph till about 10am. The sun starts to get a little harsh around that hour so thats quitting time for me. I do sometimes go back out there later in the day when my grandfather wants to check in on them and i'll just tag along. Needless to say 4 weeks into thinning and they don't even pay attention to me, Which is perfect for the way i love to photograph. I don't like to mess with the environment so much and allow people do to their thing while i do mine.
Can you see me? Barely. Some of these trees are just packed full of buds and fruits. I honestly thought this would be a quick and easy process, but It's not. If you follow me on social media at all you have already seen the all the left over buds on the ground once their done thinning. Speaking of thrown away buds, Does anyone know if they are usable in some other form? It feels like a bit of a waste to me. Anyways back to thinning. I want to say its almost done with, but its not. We just finished the honey crisps here at the main orchard and we're moving back to Molson to tend to some Fuji's and Galas. Then its back to the lake house and probably back to the main orchard again for pears.
Oh i forgot to mention! Cherries! The cherries are coming in very nicely. We'll probably start picking them here in a week or so. I'm pretty excited for that, think about all the cocktails i can make. Rum and Cherry coke.... Captain and Cherry coke.... umm a Shirley Temple? Ok so maybe i don't know anything about cocktails and cherries but, I'm still excited non the less. Hope fully i'll have some pictures up of the cherries very soon.
Well thats it for my weekly update(yes i know i'm late, I've been busy). Please enjoy some of these early images and i'll have more to come shortly.
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Idle hands are the devils playground
I don't remember when time seemed so abundant to me as it is today. I'm somewhat of an philosopher without words. What I mean by that is i think and overthink a lot without ever voicing my opinions, thoughts and ideas. Although i don't voice them as much as i should. I do show them through my images. Photography as an art form is more powerful than any words i could ever speak. The recent change in my life has given me even more time to think and reflect. While i was in philosopher mode I fell into a project of some kind. It sort of started as a challenge to myself, the challenge was to photograph just inside my grandparents house. Obviously i am still making photographs around the orchard when I am out there, but for the sake of the challenge any free time I had was spent finding things in the house that I could photograph in a more interesting composition.
I don't remember when time seemed so abundant to me as it is today. I'm somewhat of an philosopher without words. What I mean by that is i think and overthink a lot without ever voicing my opinions, thoughts and ideas. Although i don't voice them as much as i should. I do show them through my images. Photography as an art form is more powerful than any words i could ever speak. The recent change in my life has given me even more time to think and reflect. While i was in philosopher mode I fell into a project of some kind. It sort of started as a challenge to myself, the challenge was to photograph just inside my grandparents house. Obviously i am still making photographs around the orchard when I am out there, but for the sake of the challenge any free time I had was spent finding things in the house that I could photograph in a more interesting composition.
I started something like this awhile ago while i was still in Chicago. Nothing came of it, Mainly because i didn't put a lot of effort into it. I also had a lot more activities and commitments through out the day. That's the excuse i gave myself so that i could procrastinate as much as i could. Better late than never i suppose.
Projects like this are interesting to me cause of how they only come to about from the process, at least thats how i see it. You can try to pre-conceptualize it as much as you want but i think it loses its authenticty. there's a time and a place to set a photograph up and actually make a big production out of it. Thats never been something i was very good at and i try know and understand my weaknesses and play to my strengths.
I've only been at this for a day or two and I'm really enjoying doing this challenge. It's definitely giving me a lot of perspective on my feelings and emotions about living in this area. It can be very dull and lonely, but only if you make it to be that way. Although the current set of photographs in this blog does portray a sense of the sloth like pace of life, I keep myself busy as much as possible. I've never really liked the "stay at home life" and i always seek out stuff to do, whether its photographing something new, cooking something i've never cooked before, anything! I very rarely like to stay still.
The benefits of that is i try a lot of things. i've done a lot things. I've rounded myself out so to speak. It also really helps me master my craft as much as i can. if I'm not photographing. I reading something about either art or photography. I also spend a lot of time on youtube watchings some of my favorite artists or photographers on their respective channels. Which i can now hesitantly admit i consume way to much of, but its for beneficial reasons i suppose.
I'm sure something like this has been done before but the beauty of photography is that no one photograph is like the other. Unless you are literally plagiarizing someones work. So for anyone who does read this blog, I'd like you to challenge yourself as well. Now realistically this doesn't have to only apply to photography. You can paint a picture, make a video of something around the house, Write, make a song, cook a meal thats inspired by your own environment. Learn something new about something old.
I had fun and time flew by...
This week has been such a gorgeous week. I recently came back from a good friends wedding in Michigan. I've only been gone for about a month and half, but it was good to be home even if it was just for a little bit. It's astonishing how quickly things can change with-in a weeks time. The orchards are in full bloom with fruit buds everywhere. The landscape has turned so green compared to how it was only a few weeks ago. All of the trees have started bearing groups of fruit buds, some more so than others. Thinning season just started here and we're putting all hands on deck to eliminate competing buds from the king buds. King buds is the term used to describe the dominating bud in a bunch. Its not hard to to tell which one it is because it will always be the biggest one in a bunch.
This week has been such a gorgeous week. I recently came back from a good friends wedding in Michigan. I've only been gone for about a month and half, but it was good to be home even if it was just for a little bit. It's astonishing how quickly things can change with-in a weeks time. The orchards are in full bloom with fruit buds everywhere. The landscape has turned so green compared to how it was only a few weeks ago. All of the trees have started bearing groups of fruit buds, some more so than others. Thinning season just started here and we're putting all hands on deck to eliminate competing buds from the king buds. King buds is the term used to describe the dominating bud in a bunch. Its not hard to to tell which one it is because it will always be the biggest one in a bunch.
Its only been about 2 and a half days of thinning at the time of writing this blog post and we've only finished about a single block of pear tree's on the main orchard. We still have a lot more work to do on the other two orchards. Up to this point i haven't really done a lot of physical work on the orchards. I've tried my hand at spreading and staking trees down. I wasn't able to try out spraying cause you need to know how to drive a tractor and it takes a bit of practicing to get it done properly. Thinning though is a fairly straight forward process. Remove the competing buds of tree leaving 1-2 buds per bunch. The only thing you have to think about is how big do we want a particular fruit to grow. This is actually something thats determined by the market and consumers . You have to think of it in the sense of the old children's tale "Goldilocks" lol. No, but it really is that simple. Most people don't want a fruit too small or too big but just right. Some fruits that grow too big require us to leave 2 king buds in the bunch. so that we don't have a fruit the size of your head. Honeycrisps typically don't grow very big so its okay to leave a single king bud.
The next time you hear from me, Hopefully i'll be an experience thinner and can pull off an entire tree in a few mins. In reality, I'll be banned from doing this job cause i've either killed too many fruits and or jumped off a ladder cause i saw a spider or (insert creepy looking bug here). I'd probably be better off just doing what i do best, Making photographs and being as non destructive as possible.
Well enjoy some of these previews. stayed tuned for a mid week blog post. I have an update for first release prints i'll be offering up either in the blog or on a new social media account i have set up.
Walk in my shoes, Literally walk in them!
I've mainly stuck to written form on this blog and have shied from video and audio. While i don't really consider this weeks format audio since I'm pretty much silent the entire time, the video does have some audible sounds to it. I wanted to keep it this way instead of adding music in order to immerses you in what i was doing and basically how i work. Please bear in mind i included every photo i took for the sake of keep it real and raw. I wanted to show you everything i took and not just the fluff of a curated video.
In the following video, I decided to record myself photographing during the end of the work day. Everyone here starts work at 6:00am (including me) so everyone is off at about 2. well without further ado... P.S. look away during the fast forwarded parts if you get motion sickness.
I've failed this week
I failed this week. Every night before i go to bed, I set my alarm. I tell myself mentally, I'm going to get up early and I'm going to photograph during sunrise on the orchard. Yet every morning i wake up at 6:30am, I grab something quick to eat and take a look outside to get a glimpse of the light, the clouds, the shadows and if there is enough buds on the trees that have bloomed yet. Then i start procrastinating. I go back to making breakfast. I end up taking longer than i should. I say to myself eh i'll go take a shower first and then come back down and check it out again. My concept of time is pretty out of wack to be honest, sometimes i get lost in other things i do and all of the sudden its lunch time.
I failed this week. Every night before i go to bed, I set my alarm. I tell myself mentally, I'm going to get up early and I'm going to photograph during sunrise on the orchard. Yet every morning i wake up at 6:30am, I grab something quick to eat and take a look outside to get a glimpse of the light, the clouds, the shadows and if there is enough buds on the trees that have bloomed yet. Then i start procrastinating. I go back to making breakfast. I end up taking longer than i should. I say to myself eh i'll go take a shower first and then come back down and check it out again. My concept of time is pretty out of wack to be honest, sometimes i get lost in other things i do and all of the sudden its lunch time.
You know what they say. Try, try, and try again... Well i did, I tried every morning and i got pretty damn close to sunrise. I kind of had to more so recently. I told my grandfather to sleep in a little more and i'd take over watching sprays in the morning. the crew is usually starts up at about 6:30am. In order to succeed sometimes you have to break up your daily routines, So I've for gone my long over drawn slow morning routine for a quick bowl of cereal or toast, put some pants on and headed up the orchards. I had to carefully watch the spray pattern and make sure it hit all the trees in the row.
“In order to succeed sometimes you have to break up your daily routines”
I've always been somewhat of an early bird but not quite a 5:00am early bird. You know what though? Its nothing a little motivation can't change and what better to motivate me than doing something i already love doing. Little by little, I've been getting up earlier and earlier. I've slowly gotten closer to that sunrise golden hour for some really great lighting. It's definitely not easy getting up at the crack of dawn and i commend all the farm hands for doing it day after day. Sometimes even seven days a week if needed. The word weekend doesn't really apply working on an orchard or for any farmer really, which is great for photographing. There is almost always something going on weather permitting.
“If there is anything to take away from this blog post, It is don’t be afraid to fail. I’m sure it’s something that holds a lot of people back. Failing at something is always better than never making the effort and attempt to do. ”
The past month i've been very focused on the main orchard just cause its right behind the house lol. I'll have to get up even earlier to venture out to the other two orchards located closer to the lake. Stay tuned, I plan on having a different type of content up on the next blog. (hint It might be in video format).
I'll Always be street
Most people think you need to be in a big city to be a "street photographer", but that’s just not true. You can take me, currently out in bumble-fuck nowhere, and I still feel the urge to roam, explore, and photograph whatever I find interesting. Coming from Chicago, where there are absolutely endless possibilities and opportunities for great photographs, to a couple of rural towns within a fifteen-minute drive, that house about one to three thousand people combined, it's almost a complete 180° from what I'm used to… but you know what? That doesn't change you and how you photograph. You might just have to look a little harder, and spend more time finding photographs to make.
Most people think you need to be in a big city to be a "street photographer", but that’s just not true. You can take me, currently out in bumble-fuck nowhere, and I still feel the urge to roam, explore, and photograph whatever I find interesting. Coming from Chicago, where there are absolutely endless possibilities and opportunities for great photographs, to a couple of rural towns within a fifteen-minute drive, that house about one to three thousand people combined, it's almost a complete 180° from what I'm used to… but you know what? That doesn't change you and how you photograph. You might just have to look a little harder, and spend more time finding photographs to make.
Prior to moving out to Washington, I was a little concerned about what I would photograph without having a huge metropolis and its surrounding suburban utopias to provide me with visual arousal. I turned to one of my favorite photographers of all time: William Eggleston. Eggleston was well-regarded in the world of fine art photography. One of the reasons I was drawn to Eggleston so much is the fact that most of his time photographing was spent in the small town of Sumner, Mississippi. Despite the fact that he spent most of his life in a small town, he was able to create an AMAZING body of work. If anyone is interested in seeing more of his work, please don't just Google search a bunch of his work. I have almost all of his books. Just ask, and I'll let you borrow them.
Inspired by what Eggleston had accomplished, I set out to two of the towns nearest to me and took a walk around for a little bit. I didn't spend as much time walking around as I wanted to because it’s still pretty chilly out here, and for some reason, I forgot to bring gloves with me. Anyway, it didn't start off very easy, and I probably walked a good two miles before even taking one picture. This might be an unknown fact about Eggleston, but he was known to only take one shot and move on. This is something pretty uncommon, even in the days of film. Just take a quick minute to Google search Robert Frank, Alex Webb or Constantine Manos' contact sheets. Here you'll see just how many pictures are taken of a single scene. It’s often referred to as “working the scene”. I digress. I wish I could be more like Eggleston, but unfortunately, I'm not. I like to walk around a subject/scene, if I have the ability to. Sometimes, the best shot is not the first one taken.
I dont normally show a contact sheet but i guess i kind of have to since i talked about it so much lol.
So, this is my plan while I'm here for the next 11 months. Yes, I'm counting how long I've been here... When I'm not working in the orchards, or working on my photo project of the orchards, I'll be exploring the areas with a camera in hand, as I always do. This time it’s just in a smaller, more confined area. Hopefully, this inspires others to live with eyes wide open, and understand that you don't need to live in, or travel to, exotic places to make great work. I'm not saying “don't travel and explore places”. By all means, do it if you have the financial stability to travel to the places you'd like to photograph. Although, if you want to challenge yourself, while saving some money, try spending time around your current environment, and be observant.
WE HAVE SPROUTS!
“Spray and pray” is a phrase you don't want to be associated with in the photography world. When it comes to orchards, and farming of fruits and vegetables, it’s quite necessary to ensure a good crop. We've only had two days this week when the weather was good enough to start spraying the trees. It has either rained, or was too windy, for spraying, and if this doesn't get done early in the season, it could ruin a lot of fruit once harvest comes around. Thankfully, we had a gap in all the bad weather. We had little-to-no rain on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Despite the fact that it was a holiday weekend, for those who celebrate it, the guys that handle spraying were more than willing to work and help us get a jump on getting this done.
“Spray and pray” is a phrase you don't want to be associated with in the photography world. When it comes to orchards, and farming of fruits and vegetables, it’s quite necessary to ensure a good crop. We've only had two days this week when the weather was good enough to start spraying the trees. It has either rained, or was too windy, for spraying, and if this doesn't get done early in the season, it could ruin a lot of fruit once harvest comes around. Thankfully, we had a gap in all the bad weather. We had little-to-no rain on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Despite the fact that it was a holiday weekend, for those who celebrate it, the guys that handle spraying were more than willing to work and help us get a jump on getting this done.
Aside from spraying all the trees, in all three orchards, there are a few things that need to be cleared up, to ensure a good crop: First, pruning and straightening of all the trees had to be done. We had a group of people with a tractor loaded full of big and small stakes. Placing stakes onto the tree trunks helps prevent them from leaning over and shading other trees in the summertime. Smaller stakes are then placed on tree branches to encourage them to branch outward, and not straight up. My grandfather told me you end up with more fruit or buds that way.
We also started burning all the dead branches and debris that has been cleaned up all across the orchard. This is something that also needs to be done during the rainy season. Once we hit a certain point in the summer, all burning is illegal. I'm sure you can imagine how easy a forest fire can start out here once it starts to get extremely dry! That’s all I've got for now. This coming week, I'm on clean-up duty to prepare for inspection. I need to complete a check list of all the safety and cleanliness of the orchards. I hope you enjoy the images I've made so far!
A slow start, but thats how the country life rolls
Here we are: Week one is in the books! So far, so good, and life out here is pretty much as I expected. It’s still very early in the season, with lots of rain and gloomy weather. A perfect time to sit, reflect and relax. I've started reading some training documents on how the orchards run. I can't say that I'm overly fond of reading training documents, but I made my bed, and I'm going to lie in it. Also, if I really want to live and experience everything there is about working/running an apple orchard or farm, I gotta do it, I guess.
Here we are: Week one is in the books! So far, so good, and life out here is pretty much as I expected. It’s still very early in the season, with lots of rain and gloomy weather. A perfect time to sit, reflect and relax. I've started reading some training documents on how the orchards run. I can't say that I'm overly fond of reading training documents, but I made my bed, and I'm going to lie in it. Also, if I really want to live and experience everything there is about working/running an apple orchard or farm, I gotta do it, I guess.
I wish I could have started this blog post with some exciting content, but sadly, there really hasn't been a lot going on. I got myself situated in a room in my grandparents’ house, and walked around the property a few times to look for some images; but alas, nothing much has happened. That’s okay, though. I have a lot of time here and plenty more opportunities to wait for images to show themselves to me. The lighting out here has also been pretty one-sided, with it being spring, and all. It's been cloudy and gloomy all but 2 days of this week so far.
This coming week looks to be pretty eventful. The weather is looking very promising, and I'm planning on taking a walk around the closest town. I think I'll spend a day or two in town making a few photographs. Until then, I hope you enjoy some quick images I made around the main orchard and house. I'll also be driving to one of the other three orchards they own, in the next few days.
Manifesto of a Documentary photographer
If you were to tell me 10 years ago that i'd be living in a small remote rural town doing a self funded project with no intention of making a dime on said project. I'd would have probably thought you were crazy, but then secretly steal your idea and shelve it for a long long time.
I can't quite remember when i first started taking pictures, but i do know i've had a camera with me since i was 7 or 8 years old. I started with those little disposable cameras and eventually started playing with my parents old Polaroid SX-70( i wish i knew what happened to that camera). As soon as the digital age of photography became more affordable, I jumped right into a point and shoot. Then there was camera phones which i think is one of the most revolutionary advancements in photography. Making cameras available for the masses is right up there next to the invention of pizza. At some point everyone that likes taking pictures starts to think about buying a DLSR and so i did. I went through G.A.S. (Gear acquisition syndrome) for quite a few years. i bought a giant pro body, lenses, flashes and modifiers and so much more. I kind of got lost in the gear and forgot about making photographs for awhile.
If you were to tell me 10 years ago that i'd be living in a small remote rural town doing a self funded project with no intention of making a dime on said project. I'd would have probably thought you were crazy, but then secretly steal your idea and shelve it for a long long time.
I can't quite remember when i first started taking pictures, but i do know i've had a camera with me since i was 7 or 8 years old. I started with those little disposable cameras and eventually started playing with my parents old Polaroid SX-70( i wish i knew what happened to that camera). As soon as the digital age of photography became more affordable, I jumped right into a point and shoot. Then there was camera phones which i think is one of the most revolutionary advancements in photography. Making cameras available for the masses is right up there next to the invention of pizza. At some point everyone that likes taking pictures starts to think about buying a DLSR and so i did. I went through G.A.S. (Gear acquisition syndrome) for quite a few years. i bought a giant pro body, lenses, flashes and modifiers and so much more. I kind of got lost in the gear and forgot about making photographs for awhile.
So lets get back to what i did when i was just starting to get serious about photography, I started reading everything i could about the technical aspects of photography. I couldn't even begin to count how many blogs,vlogs, online tutorials i went through in the first few years. I will tell you that it was well worth the time. When i think back on it now, all the hours spent on learning the exposure triangle like the back of my hand gives you a ton of confidence when faced with difficult lighting situations. Although this step in becoming a good photographer is VERY important, it wasn't the most difficult part for me. So off i went armed with way more knowledge than i started with. I made photographs of everything! I started photographing My pets, family, friends, the food i was about to eat. you name it i probably have a photograph of it. This is where it started to get hard as is with anything that is done in a repetition. I ran out of stuff to photograph, I lost inspiration for it for awhile. So i started reading again and looking at gear as well. I came across a lot of blogs. I watched more online classes from pros in the business. One thing that hit me and sort of just clicked in my head was about finding your "Voice" so to speak. Going back to how accessible photography has become, It is a very much a double edged sword. There are a plethora of people who bought a DSLR, found some pretty girls or guys and made some portraits of them. I mean check out Instagram, Facebook, Flickr. (insert popular social media platform here). It's in every corner of the interwebs. I'm not saying this in any disrespect, Heck I've done it myself. I just wanted to point out how over saturated photography has become in the last few years.
So i started to think and read about a different aspect of photography. What could possibly separate me from the ocean of photographers? One thing that came up the most from other photographers is a sense of style or personal voice. This can come in many different variations. It could be a certain way you make your photographs or a certain way of processing/post editing your photos. I on the other hand wanted to take a deeper look at how i made photographs or more so what my photographs told me about myself. It took me maybe over a year to really figure it out and honestly i don't know if I've completely figured it out yet, but after going through tens of thousands of photos that I've made over the years i started to notice a few things. There were certain patterns in the images i liked the best. Out of the series of photos i went through i found a lot of myself in the images. I don't know how to better explain it other than all of my favorite images were very personal. I know there might be a lot of people out there that don't like the photographs i make and thats okay. This might sound pretentious but I only want to make something that makes me happy. I have to come to terms that i'm not out to satisfy other people, but on the flip side if my images intrigue or inspire even one person it makes it all even more worth it.
Now that I have the technical knowledge and what i consider my signature style, What next? Well after dabbling in so many different types of photography. I really wanted to do something important to me, something that i can hopefully leave behind for future generations. My grandparents have owned apple orchards out in northern Washington state for as long as i can remember. I've spent plenty of summers out there sometimes helping with work they did, but mostly it was just a summer get away with my uncles, aunts and cousins. I have so many fond memories of our time spent swimming in the lake or playing tag on ATV's in the orchards. So this brings me to today, I officially am back in Ellisford at my grandparents house. Why am i here you ask? Well its pretty straight forward. I wish i spent more time photographing my time here as a kid. I wish i kept whatever photos i did take when i was here as a kid. I wish i had something to share with the next generation of Del rosario's about our time here as kids. So i left my comfy life in the northern suburbs of chicago to live out here for at least a year. I bet you've heard someone say "get out of your comfort zone" once in a while. Thats exactly what i am doing. Anytime i've considered a job i go into it with the mind set of telling a story. Whether its photographing a wedding to the photographing the streets of Chicago. So i thought to my self, what is the best way to really capture my grandparents orchards? Well I have to immerse myself in the entirety of the experience. I decided that i need to be here day in day out for a full season. I need to see the apples trees bloom, experience harvests, Work and follow my grandfather around, even work with the other employees on the orchard and capture every day life out here.
I wish i could say i know exactly how this is going to go or I have an exact plan of the outcome, but i don't. Thats how it usually goes with anything i photograph. I usually like to work organically. I let images unfold before me and try to be at the right place at the right time. So this is what i'll be doing for the next 12 months. For everyone that would like to follow along with the story or see a few previews into my progress, I'll be posted up a blog post 1-2 times a week. I'll also be posting up images here and on instagram.
If you don't already follow me on social media i'd love it did.
Snapchat : @Chriiiissss
IG : @Chriiiissss
Sometimes you have to just go out and do it!
That winter rut... Let me tell you one thing about it. Its REAL. It happens to the best of us. I'm pretty sure it applies to the non creatives as well. What is it about the winter time that slows down the creation process? Is it the extremely long months of dark and dreary weather? Is it the sub arctic temperatures(if you live in Chicago)? Or is it because you've consumed an obscene amount of comfort food and just really don't feel like getting off the couch? What ever the reason is, it happens to everyone at some point. I've felt like this for the last 5 months and i couldn't find a way out of it. I was almost at the point to where i wanted to say fuck it. Maybe this is just a hobby and It's not meant for me?
That was my mind set for quite some time, At least until i left for Vegas to see the rest of my family for Christmas. I knew i had a long day ahead of me. for some odd reason i decided to book a flight for Christmas eve and had a 4 our layover in Denver. What do you do when your stuck at airports for pretty much the entire day? Most people would probably say grab a beer and start enjoying vacation? No no, my first extinct was to walk around look for things to photograph. An hour or so went by and i had nothing. I was still completely depleted and finally ended up at the closet watering hole and grabbed a beer. I sat there for awhile and thought, whatever I'm just not feeling inspired. Its feels like its something i've just gotten used to the past few months.
I sat there and started to read some other people talk about what inspires their art. There was one blog that i read from Zack Arias. He posted a blog titled "Get the fuck to work" . If you haven't read it, i suggest you do. It's great to see someone strip themselves down and find the very core of who they are. One thing that Zack mentions is that inspiration happens in the process and what he means by that is, Sometimes you're not meant to just sit there and wait for lighting to strike you. You need to go seek out the thunder storms. So i finished and paid for my beer and started roaming around again. This time camera in hand and just started snapping. No thinking, planning, or preconceptions of any sort. I just started making photographs.
I'm typically not the type of person that likes to spray and pray. I typically live by the concept of quality over quantity, But then i thought more and more about it. Mediocre work or content is better than ZERO work or content. Do you wanna hear something crazy? Something so outlandish that it'll make you slap the person sitting next to you? It really does work. What an insane concept huh? Working sparks more work? The process of creation can spark inspiration. Now I'm off to go make more work. I don't know what it'll be just yet. I don't know where it'll be. I just know i have to go do it. I HAVE to create work. So i'll leave you with that. Stop reading this blog and go create something.
Your pro camera must take great pictures....
I'm sure some of you, even people that are not photographers have heard someone say or have even said this themselves. "Thats a nice camera it must take amazing pictures" or "I could take great pictures if owned a professional camera"......
I'm not mad though... its just ignorance really. People that don't know what actually goes into making photographs assume its someone just clicking a button and so i decided to do just that. Does anyone remember point and shoot cameras? The days prior to camera phones? They came in a ton of varieties. There are still a ton of them out there today.(probably not for much longer though). Queue the thrift store anthem(you know which one I'm talking about), its where all the latest tech in film technology is sold these days. It really didn't take me very long. I actually got to one store where they had tons of little cameras and and the best part was that they only cost $2-3. They were wrapped up in little baggies and some of them even had film in them. Now the problem with film is you really don't know how the picture will turn out until you develop them, So i wasn't sure if any of these cheap cameras would actually work. Well there was only one way to find out. So i grabbed a few of them and took them home to make sure all the functions still work. Luckily the first one i picked up worked perfectly. I grabbed a roll of Kodak Gold 400 and i was off and running.
I'll be completely honest, I had almost zero hope for this camera when I first got it. So many odd things about it. First off obviously there are no settings at all, I can turn the flash on/off/auto. I'm still not quite sure on how the auto focus works on this camera. Typically on most camera you'd hear some type of whining or whirring sound. This is actually dead silent. I searched google for a manual or something and from what I read, all I have to go by is a small little green led right by the viewfinder and when it turns green it's good to go. Well I threw I roll in and went with it. Aside from lack of focus assurance, you have your typical lack of settings that come with a point and shoot, no apeture, shutter speed control. Now with film point and shoots you can hack your film rolls DX code to fool the camera(Read this article about hacking DX codes). So you can have some control of what ASA/ISO to shoot at. There is one thing that comes in handy at times and thats the 90mm zoom this P&S has. Yes you heard right 90mm!!! It maxes out at an f-stop of 5.6 or somthing but i've never been a big bokeh whore. I'm usually shooting at f8 and up when photographing on the streets.
For all the lack of features on the camera it's still a camera. It takes pictures as it was built to do and when its put in the right hands, it can produce great images. I actually learned a lot using this cheap camera. I was no longer worried about what my exposure was cause i really didn't have control of any exposure settings. What i was able to do was train my mind and eyes to see photographs better before taking them. I learned more about light, composition and emotion in a photo before clicking the shutter. I also quickly found out what my limitations were and i'll add some examples at the end of the blog. There are tons of situations where i knew this camera would not work, but i took pictures any way to see what would come out of it.
For anyone else out there that has struggled with two many options on modern cameras i urge you to try a point and shoot challenge. You don't have to go and buy a film camera although its a pretty cheap options. You can use an old digital point and shoot lying around at home or The camera that's always on you(your phone).
Limiting your choices will free your mind.
You need to be your own worst critic!
Who are you photographing for? I often times find my seeking the approval of other people, whether it be from friends, other photographer, or social media likes and follows. I know I've sat at a coffee shop a few times just after posting up a new picture on Instagram or Facebook and incessantly refreshing the browser or phone for new likes. i mean who doesn't like admiration from others? I don't want to make accusations but i think anyone who says they don't like appreciation or the approval of others is lying.
I recently had an image featured on an Instagram account and boom 1500 likes later i was obsessed. I started posting up more images to try and repeat my so called success. Success... What does that mean to you? The word is most commonly correlated to your financial status, the brand named cloths your wear or the the type of car you drive. I don't want to sit here and say i never yearned for any of these things, because i did. There were times when i used to put all the money i had from working at my 9-5 into car parts for my car. I would buy the newest phones and electronics.
This last year as been different though. I've spent a lot of my time reflecting and trying to understand myself better. Part of this process i've found one thing i really desire the most. My own happiness. As selfish as this sounds, I think you need to be happy for yourself first before you can pass this on to other people you interact with. The one person you should aim to impress is yourself. So i decided to go through ALL of my images. I'm not sure if people understand how many images i actually have that no one has ever seen. lets just say its nearing the 50k(not including film negatives) . I'm still in the process of narrowing it down to my favorite images but it's going to take some time.
I'm slowly whittling down my collection of images, but its taught me something in the process. I'm starting to learn and see a common theme between them all. I'm getting a better handle at who i am and what i enjoy. Before i end this blog post, I'll leave you with this. Do things for yourself, Create to make yourself happy and everything else will follow.
Things you should avoid when making photographs...
What goes through your head right before a shoot that you either set up or were commissioned for? I recently set up a quaint little shoot with a small production. I had a make up artist (Nathalie) and a model (Lulu). The day started of like any other, only i was frantically cleaning,arranging and moving things back and forth until the location was perfect.
As soon as you think you're all done and everything is where it needs to be, you always find one last thing that needs to be moved... At this point i just stopped and said to myself its perfect the way it is. Sometimes things should be imperfect. Although i am a bit OCD when it comes to certain things. I can honestly say i don't like my images overly polished and perfect. I love the small little imperfections in someones face or body. It adds a great level of personal character to an image or person.
I think what i'm ultimately trying to get at is, be careful with trying to over fluff your images with too much. One of the things i think helped me create better images was taking things away from it. No extravagant location shoots, no off camera flashes, fewer lens options, and 1-2 film stocks (if shooting film). The saying "less is more" Hits true to my style of shooting. When your mind has less to worry about while shooting, you can put forth more of your creativity into the actual photograph.
Next time your getting a shoot ready or venturing out doors to photograph the public, Test yourself. Remove some comfort items from your camera arsenal. Try only using 1 or 2 lenses, or only rely on natural light. you'll be surprised at how much you can create with less in your way.
What did growing up in a Filipino family teach me?
I can't remember my very first birthday, but I'm almost certain it involved several dozen of family members. First cousins, second cousins and the rest of their families gathered around a dinner table full of food. It was almost always a lined up buffet style, with barbecue pork on skewers, pancit palabok, lechon kawali, and so much more, i'd rather not think about because I'm already hungry as it is. We didn't reserve these extravagant food arrangements for birthday parties. We'll get together for holidays, any sort of sporting event championships, karaoke night (when someone just so happens to have a magic mic). As I look back at all of the parties we had, I recently started to realize and appreciate the idea of having a strong supporting network.
I want to go back to the word family for a little bit. What does it mean really? Is "family" someone you have a traceable blood relation to? Sure, that's the most direct answer. The word "family" to me means a person you have built a long and meaningful relationship with. Anyone that quickly takes a look at my collection of photos will clearly see that my family is what is photographed the most in my life. It's kinda hard not to when you have such an eclectic bunch of friends from so many different backgrounds. You'll also notice how much they've gotten used to having a camera in their face at all times. I'm usually completely ignored now which is great for me. It's so much easier capturing all the genuine candid moment we have.
"the most important thing right now is self awareness...knowing your strengths and weakness(es)". So i sat down, thought about it and here we are. Writing a blog about something I consider a strength of mine. I know there is so much talk out on the interwebs about introverts and extroverts. I don't really know which side I live on. What do you call a half and half? (closet introvert?) Some days I'm perfectly fine sitting at home binging on Youtube videos while thinking if I should order an entire large pizza for myself. Other times I'm up and about networking and meeting new people. I can honestly say I've made it through the majority of my life by the help of friends and family. Anytime I've needed help or just needed people to talk to, friends and family have always been there. It kind of baffles me how someone can go through life with out this type support.
I don't want to sit here and say i got by in life using the connections i have, but i certainly would not be the person i am today without the people I've surrounded myself with. Isn't is just human nature to want to be around other human beings? Is it crazy to think some people out there find a better connection with Cats, dogs, manbearpigs? Whatever or whomever it may be that you deem as your inner circle of friends and family. I only hope they help you keep your sanity throughout your life. I know mine has so far.
“The more complex the network is, the more complex its pattern of interconnections, the more resilient it will be.” – Fritjof Capra
"the most important thing right now is self awareness...knowing your strengths and weakness(es)" - Gary Vaynerchuck
Analog Life part deux
It's been awhile since i wrote a blog post so i thought it would be about time to start this back up. A little over a year ago i started shooting film again. Its slowly taken over alot of my personal work. I still shoot digital for Jobs that require a quick turn a round time, but i find my self grabbing film and film cameras more often when i venture out to shoot.
It's crazy to think how much more time i can spend on creating images without the fuss of post processing. Alot of the work is done by a lab called Indiefilmlab. I'll put up a link to their website below, but they do an AMAZING job.
If you haven't noticed, for some reason i've been using a lot of black and white film. Everything so far has been shot on Ilford HP5 ISO400. The first shot in the series was pushed to 1600. I really do love this film stock but i'm still in my experimenting phase. I actually have a bunch of different types of films on its way and can't wait to test them all out.
Here is the last one for now. I have so many shots that won't fit even in a 2 part blog post. Check back soon for part three of the Analog life.
Please check out www.indiefilmlab.com for all your developing and processing needs! Full disclosure i am not paid or given any free services, I just love what they do so much.
Analog life
"Wind, Wind, Click". Gone are the days of manually winding film, clicking on a shutter button and not being able to instantly see the results on the back of the camera. Or so i thought. I bought a hasselblad 501c about a year ago and shot a few rolls. I love the camera, I love medium format. Especially the 6x6 square. It gives you a different perspective on compostion.
Despite how much i love shooting with the hasselblad, There is one big issue. Its the size of chipotle burrito stuffed with every topping you can imagine. So the search began for a smaller film camera, But i didnt want to shell out more money i could use to buy film, pizza or beer.
Cue the Thrift shop song by MACKLEMORE. I must have walked into 5-6 thift shops in the same night and it wasnt till the last salvation army that i walked into when the camera that would soon be mine. A Pentax K1000 sitting on a shelf with a 50mm f2 lens on it. I was skeptic at first, Because of the weird smudge on the lens.(looked like melted chocolate) The inside of the camera looked clean and the shutter operated perfectly.
Then i saw the price tag sticker crudely put on the bottom of the camera. $8.99?!?! i was confused and thought there had to be a catch. I mean ebay sells a body alone for $50. and this was $9 for body and lens. So i thought what the hell? I'll skip a day of binging on fast food to pay for this camera.
I've shot about 10 rolls on this camera and have developed about 2 of those rolls. I currently have 8 more mailed out to a lab for processing and am paitently waiting to receive this back. Which brings me to one of the reasons i wanted to start shooting film again. Digital is great, Don't get me wrong. I love all the Fuji cameras i have, Especially the x100T! With that being said, There is a completely different feeling, thought process behind shooting film. I'll explain more when i get my 8 rolls of film back in a part 2 to this blog. To be continued.....